Thanks to good performance and Russian exclusion
Suddenly Ylena In-Albon is in the Wimbledon main draw
Ylena In-Albon (23) is in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. The Valais owes this to her good performances – and the decision of the Wimbledon organizers to exclude Russian and Belarusian players.
Published: 9:25 p.m
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Updated: 9:39 p.m
A year ago, Ylena In-Albon was still playing at the ITF tournament in Klosters, Graubünden. As the 451st in the world, taking part in a Grand Slam was out of the question. Twelve months later, she’s about to make her major debut at Wimbledon, right in the main draw!
The Valais native is currently ranked 110th in the world – her career high so far. For the first Grand Slam participation, however, she would have had to qualify again. So far she has not managed to survive five attempts. Because of the exclusion of the Belarusian and Russian tennis stars, she slipped further up the list. And because some had to give up due to injuries, In-Albon finally kisses the hand.
«Ambience is almost overwhelming»
Until then, the tension was great. “There were a few days when I looked at the list three or four times a day and it just didn’t go forward,” she says in a media round. For her, being part of the prestigious tournament was “madness. The whole ambience is almost overwhelming.»
Reducing her participation to just luck doesn’t do her justice. The 23-year-old has been fully committed to tennis since 2019. Before that she was still working on her high school diploma at the sports university in Brig. “Tennis has always been a priority. It was still important to me that I got my high school diploma.”
The family and school are in Valais, but the center of her life in sport has been in Ticino for seven years. Regular commuting costs energy and time. With the conclusion, the sunny part of Switzerland will become your fixed point. There she works from the beginning with coach Gonzalo Vitale (52), who accompanies her in London this year. With him by her side, she steadily works her way up.
Focus on WTA tournaments instead of ITFs
Most of the time, however, In-Albon’s name appears on the participation lists of ITF tournaments. In the lower realms, she regularly achieves good results (11 titles). Competing at Wimbledon now gives her confidence for more. “I’ve played a lot of ITF, now I’m trying to take the step to the WTA tournaments. Now is the moment for it.”
In-Albon is already in the Wimbledon mood. At the media event she wears a jacket with green and violet elements, her fingernails are already painted white. On Monday she will play her biggest game to date against Alison Riske – on a surface she is not used to.
Against the world number 35 she will only play on grass for the fifth time in her career. The signs could be better. “But anything can happen in tennis, there are always surprises – especially on grass. I have to find some way to get them in trouble.”
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